Your Nickname: Keeper
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: Yes
Are you over thirteen? Yes
How did you find us and decide to write with us? Other
If you have written other characters here: No
If Yes, list them all:
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary

Full Character Name: Eilionoir 'Eilidh' McEachern
Character Birthday & Age: August 22nd, 1998
City & Country of Birth: Highlands of Scotland
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn: Halfblood
House & Year: Ravenclaw, First Year

Wand: 10 1/2" in length, made from supple willow wood and treated until it became perfectly smooth. An unicorn hair was used to create the core for this wand.

Physical Description:
Eilidh is comparatively short and petite for age, but not to the extent that she appears overly frail or much younger than she actually is. Her green eyes tend to observe her surroundings with a mild curiosity, taking in new sights, but she avoids to stare. She usually allows her long blonde hair to fall down her back unrestrained, only opting to take action against it when it turns into a distinctly noticeable hindrance or even risk. Her skin colour is relatively fair as well, making her seem somewhat pale in general.

Despite at first appearing like a stay-at-home child it eventually becomes obvious that she does in fact spend quite a lot of time outside. While she usually tries to avoid getting overly dirty she does not flinch at the prospect and her movement on rough terrain is just as graceful, even though not quite as fast, as on flat ground.

Her clothes of choice are practical and simple most of the time, often enough gumboots and a raincoat are picked over more fashionable choices. She does own and even appreciate more fancy or girly clothing, but on an ordinary day the Highlands of Scotland just are not the right place for that.

She does speak with a distinctly noticeable Scottish accent, but is easily enough understood, at least by native speakers of the English language.

Personality Description:
Eilidh is, not uncommon for her age, a bubbly and usually cheerful child, but she does have her sadder moments, too - occasionally falling prey to a pang of homesickness. In those moments she tends to retreat from her peers, seeking comfort in solace.

She is quite studious and rarely has trouble understanding a new concept or topic. In the beginning of her school career she was one of the many good students who constantly felt like they were actually doing bad, but in recent years she learned to judge at what point she had actually studied enough. This allows her not to burn herself up in her studies while still receiving good grades, but her knowledge of some subjects is not quite as all-encompassing as that of some other, more stereotypical model students.

In her dealings with others she is almost always friendly and polite, but her temper flares up at times when she has been provoked sufficiently. She is however unable to hold a grudge for long, which is both a blessing and a curse at times. Furthermore she is always willing to help, or at least try to, caring deeply for those she considers her friends and is usually even willing to help those she does not like all that much.

Her aspiration to become a healer at St. Mungo's meshes well with her willingness to help, but every once in a while she does feel more like pursuing a career in Quidditch, usually after the Montrose Magpies, of whom she is an avid fan, managed to pull off yet another impressive game.

On the other hand Eilidh certainly is not overly brave and she prefers to avoid conflict if possible. At times this causes her to spend a lot of time trying to find alternate solutions or caving in instead of opting to take action and risk confrontation. She also prefers to stick to the rules and will usually remind others who intend on breaking them about the trouble they might get themselves into. She will however, not rat anyone out unless she feels like it is for their own safety or believes that she can avert major issues that way. When asked to lend a hand she is easily convinced to do so and, in that context, actually more likely to break the rules herself.

Either an admirable or utterly annoying trait, depending on whom you ask, is her unwillingness, even inability, to tell a decent lie. A little fib at times works well enough, but any major untruth she tells is easily recognized as a lie. Because of that she opted to stay away from them and rather tell the truth. If she has to keep quiet about something she simply does not talk about it at all, but that obviously raises suspicion as well.

History:
Eilidh is the younger of the two daughters of Kyle and Fiona McEachern, reasonably wealthy residents of a small coastal muggle village somewhere in the Highlands of Scotland. Money has run in the family as long as its wizard ancestry, but muggles married into the family at various points during the centuries, placing the McEachern family in a spot somewhere between living in the wizard world and being fully integrated into the, albeit rural, muggle community.

Both her parents work as healers at the St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, although her father also did study medicine at a muggle university and worked for a few years as a muggle doctor. Initially considered a lunatic by his magical colleagues, and still having a reputations as being a bit of an oddball, he quickly prove himself to still be a capable healer when he returned to his former occupation at St. Mungo's. Although Eilidh does not plan to study muggle medicine she dreams of following in her parents' footsteps and is determined to make that happen.

Her 15 year old sister, Aileen, is a student at Hogwarts and was sorted into the Slytherin house. Calling Aileen ruthless would not be fair, but her distinct brand of cunning and persuasiveness makes her feel quite at home there. She enjoys throwing a spanner into the works of her plotting and scheming housemates without them ever knowing. She plans to pursue a career at the Wizengamot after graduation and considers her years in the Slytherin house a valuable lesson in wizard politics and scheming.

Eilidh's childhood was largely uneventful. She grew up having muggle children as her friends and lived mostly in the muggle world. Granted, her parents were wizards, but back then the jobs of the farmers and fishermen amongst her friend's parents seemed to be just as interesting to her. Her parents talked about fairly strange things at times, now and then decidedly odd relatives visited, and sometimes things that should not happen happened. Other than that though, things were ordinary as long as she ignored her knowledge about the wizarding world which was actually less comprehensive than her knowledge about that of the muggles.

That changed when her older sister became a student at Hogwarts, confronting Eilidh directly with the reality that there was another world she was part of and that the day would come at which she would travel to Hogwarts, too. She started to bug her parents, and any visiting wizards, with all sorts of questions and began reading up on various topics like the history of magic, Hogwarts, and many other things. Eventually she got her hands on an issue of 'Wand or Weed: A Healer's Digest' which detailed cures for hippogriff caused injuries and diseases transmitted by them. Granted, back then many of the words used were simply too big and too strange for her to comprehend, but the weird and sometimes even creepy depictions had her hooked. She wanted to know everything about their jobs from her parents and their answers only steeled her resolve. She knew what she wanted to do for a living.

Classes:

Core Classes Astronomy Charms Defense Against the Dark Arts Herbology History of Magic Potions Transfiguration Flying

Electives No No No No No

How Do You Fit Into Your House?:
The hat's decision was not predetermined, but still easy enough. Eilidh lacks the raw courage that would make her a good Gryffindor even though she is virtually always willing to help. And the occasional display of slyness certainly does not even out her general lack of cunning and pressing ambition. Left with the options of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw the hat chose Ravenclaw sensing Eilidh's studious nature.

Writing Sample:
"Still no luck?", asked Eilidh's sister Aileen gently as she placed a hand on her younger sister's shoulder. "I'm sure the letter will be here tomorrow, when you wake up. It's just delayed."

Eilidh tried to turn her facial expression into a brave smile, but succeeding only partially she just kept staring out onto the waves of the storm-whipped sea instead of looking up at her sister. it was easy for her to talk, after all she had gotten her acceptance letter five years ago while her 11th birthday had been yesterday, meaning the letter was at least a day overdue. And on top of that there were less than two weeks left until the next term at Hogwarts started!

The two sisters remained silent for a few minutes, Aileen obviously sensing that her younger sibling needed time to find the right words for what she wanted to say. Eventually Eilidh spoke up: "But what if... if I don't get accepted? What if..?"

Her older sister burst out laughing, but quickly reigned herself in, aware that the younger McEachern girl was serious and did not consider the topic one worth laughing about. Despite that amusement was still noticeable in her voice when she answered: "What if you're a squib? Stop being silly, Eilidh. Not every young witch or wizard discovers her potential by setting the living room ablaze."

The younger girl snickered at the memory despite her sadness and her sister patted her shoulder before continuing: "You've caused enough weird things to happen that I' bet my life on you being a witch. Yeah, I know, you always find an explanation, but for someone like you, who doesn't cause trouble on purpose... it just happens way too often."

Eilidh's response was nothing but a non-committal shrug, her way of showing her sister that she was not convinced. Not yet. Not until she held the letter in her hands. And until then she would stay up on this hill and keep watch for the owl, looking out over the firth into the distance, where they always came from. Her sister seemed to realize that and wordlessly turned around to walk away after giving her shoulder a last reassuring squeeze.

Even when the storm became stronger and it began to rain Eilidh continued to stare into the distance.  Her parents would not have liked her staying out in these conditions, but they were working again. After they both managed to get the day off for her birthday yesterday they had to work today and would not get home before at least 10 PM. Eventually the sun descended beneath the horizon and Eilidh could no longer see anything in the distance. Even the firth in front of her was invisible now, only the sound of the waves betraying its continued presence.

She was tempted to stay outside in defiance, as if she could increase her chances of receiving the acceptance letter if she stayed and kept watching. Common sense prevailed however and with a defeated sigh she turned to the crofthouse behind her. The warm glow of the windows beckoned her and only then she realized how cold, wet, and miserable she actually felt. The promise of a warm and dry living room almost managed to suppress the despair caused by the lacking acceptance letter. Her gait sped up and she fell into a jog, hurrying down the hill, only avoiding to fall in the darkness since she had climbed it virtually every single day since she could walk.

The girl reached the door and pushed it open, quickly slipping inside and escaping the storm. The dog in the corner raised her cream-coloured head and seemed to stare intently at Eilidh, as if to tell her something, but she barely noticed. Her eyes were glued to the thick parchment envelope lying on the table.

Sum up your character in one paragraph:
Eilidh is easily enough identified as a kind soul when talking to her or observing her from a distance. She definitely is no leadership personality, preferring to follow in the shadow of someone else and avoiding risk. Her outgoing nature makes it relatively easy for her to get along with most other people and her willingness to help often makes them appreciate her quite quickly.

Approved! - Kit